Self Drafted Black Maxi Dress

I told you, I'd be back soon :)

Mrs.MA came to me with her favorite maxi dress under one arm and a bunch of fabric under the other and she had one simple wish. "Make me exactly the same dress, this one has been worn to pieces" And it truly had. Holes in the bottom, thin spots under the arms.With first glance I was able to tell that this was THE dress for her and she truly was in love with it. And with requests like this there is one huge good thing and one terrifying bad. There's a real example to take as a base for the pattern which is awesome. But if she is so in love with it, she will have insanely high expectations. No pressure, right.

For the bodice, I used double layer of fabric for the waistband and back piece. The upper front bodice is single layer of fabric. I wanted to maintain that little gathering under the chest without making it bulky(as it would have been in double). But as for it to be snugly around the body, it made sense to make the waist and back in double. The original was all in one layer and I could see on her body that it needed the extra fabric to be perfect on her.

The straps cross at the back and I think it adds a bit of wow factor to the dress. Spaghetti strap dresses from jersey can often seem a bit tacky but I think with crossed straps it instantly becomes a bit more elegant.

The straps are actually braided from three fabric strips and come from the waistband and are topstitched to the V in the bodice.

In the back the straps are sewn into the seam that connects the top and bottom layer of fabric to have a nice and clean finish. The skirt part is gathered to add a bit of flare to the skirt and to hide some body imperfections. The top of front bodice is finished with a bias tape made from the fabric, all the seams are serged and the bottom of the dress is stitched with the twin needle.

In the end I am very happy about the result, even though I was quite nervous about it in the beginning. Well..I am always a bit nervous when I'm starting a new project for someone else and not for me.

Fabric: Cotton and viscose jersey
Pattern: Self drafted based on a previous dress
Time spent: 6 hours

Ps. For gathering the skirt part I used the dental floss method, which I read from Andrea's post about her Out and About Dress. After reading her tip I have always used either the dental floss method or I've used elastic thread on the spool.